The present invention relates to business forms which include an identification or promotional card for advertising, insurance, membership, and many other identification or promotional functions.
In the manufacture of cards, cards are either affixed onto the form or they are an integral part of the form. It is well known in the forms industry to attach a plastic (or other suitable material) laminate onto a paper form using an adhesive which adheres the laminate sufficiently to the form to allow normal machine handling (printing, folding, etc.) and yet allows the card to be removed or peeled off by the recipient or end user. Such cards are often referred to as xe2x80x9caffixed cardsxe2x80x9d and the material for such cards may be polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, and many other plastics, or even paper, with thicknesses typically between approximately 0.008 and 0.035 inch (8 to 35 mils).
In many applications, it is desirable to add printing or other data to the exposed surface of the card after it is adhered to the paper form but still in the machinery making the form (e.g., in-line printing). The stiffness of the card due to its thickness and material, the removable or peelable nature of the affixed card, and the height of the card above the supporting form can interfere with the printing process. Laser printers, for example, may jam or even become damaged when processing forms with affixed plastic cards. The raised edges of the card may catch on surfaces in the printer or the card may unintentionally come off the form (called xe2x80x9cpre-dispensingxe2x80x9d) as the form traverses the non-linear paper path inside the printer.
Attempts have been made to improve the laser printability of affixed cards by recessing the cards into the form. One example recesses the card into a hole which is die-cut into the form. Two continuous ribbons of tape retain the card once it is placed in the die-cut aperture. This card is a separate piece added to a business form, as distinguished from a technique known a xe2x80x9cintegralxe2x80x9d cards, discussed below, in which the card substrate is formed from the material of the business form itself. Other attempts to render affixed cards more amenable to modern in-line printers build up a separate layer of paper surrounding the cards or debosses the paper sheet to form a recess to receive the card to provide a smoother, less abrupt transition from the surface of the form to the surface of the card (on which it is desired to print).
Integal cards (also known as integrated cards) were developed to provide an identification card function with alternate materials and to improve compatibility with laser printers. Integral cards can be less costly than affixed cards and typically provide improved laser printer compatibility because the height of the print surface of the card relative to the surface of the form is reduced. The terms xe2x80x9cintegralxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cintegratedxe2x80x9d refer to the fact that at least one layer of a card is made of the form material itself. Prior integral cards include one in which a portion of the form receives at least one plastic laminate on at least one surface of the form (although integral cards may also be provided without laminates). The plastic laminate is often polyester with a thickness of approximately 1 to 5 mils. Other laminates may also be selected with different stiffness, transparency, ink or toner receptivity, cost and other characteristics. The laminate is bonded to the surface of the form, typically by a pressure-sensitive adhesive, although many different types of adhesive may be employed.
The form and laminate are then perforated in a closed path within the perimeter of the laminate to define an integral card. The central portion within the perimeter of the die-cut perforation defines an integral card portion; and the perimeter portion outside the die-cut and within the boundary of the lamination defines a border or frame portion. Again, the terms xe2x80x9cintegralxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cintegratedxe2x80x9d refer to the fact that the form ply itself provides one layer of the resultant card, as opposed to an affixed card which adheres a separate card onto a surface of the form and the form merely acts as a carrier.
The perforation of prior art perforated integral cards (as distinguished from xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d cards, to be described below) typically extends continuously around the intended perimeter of the card and provides ties or connections between the card portion and the border portion. These ties typically measure about 0.008 inch (8 mils) wide or wider and are as thick as the combined thickness of the form stock and the laminates. As used herein, the xe2x80x9cwidthxe2x80x9d of a tie in a perforated card is the distance between adjacent perforations, and the xe2x80x9cthicknessxe2x80x9d is the dimension of the tie parallel to the cutting motion of the perforator. To provide sufficient structure to secure the card to the form in xe2x80x9cperforatedxe2x80x9d cards, there are typically six to eight ties per inch of perimeter of the die-cut perforation, but the number of ties per inch may vary considerably.
A major drawback to the prior art perforated integral card is that the ties are quite strong, especially when the card is laminated with one or two plastic layers. The strength of the ties makes it difficult for the end user to separate the card from the form. The ties must be broken or torn as the card portion is pushed out of the form. Also, the removed card shows evidence of the torn ties. The torn ties are unsightly and the edge of the card feels rough to the touch. The torn ties may even cause abrasions to the skin when polyester is used as the laminate layer or layers.
Another attempt to improve the integral card disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,497 is referred to herein as a xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d card. It involves special, usually proprietary materials providing a peel interface to hold the card in the business form until use. As opposed to rupturing perforations to remove the card out from the die-cut opening in the form, xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d approaches provide an integral card which can be removed by peeling the card out of the die-cut opening using a special series of laminates and adhesives to obviate the use of perforations. The special series of laminates consists of
(i) a backer ply;
(ii) a plastic laminate;
(iii) an adhesive or other means to bond the backer ply to the plastic laminate while permitting the two to be separated by a peeling action (the peel interface); and
(iv) a pressure-sensitive adhesive to bond the plastic laminate to the form.
The special series of laminates are applied to a portion of the form sheet and a perimetrically continuous (or xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d) die-cut defines the card portion and a frame portion. In this case, however, the die has a uniform cutting edge, not a notched perforator edge; and it penetrates the form and plastic laminate, but not the backer layer. The backer layer is the tying or connecting medium which secures the card in place during subsequent processing. The die-cut card portion is secured to the backer ply until it is peeled out. In some cases, a few (approximately four to eight) weak ties may interrupt the otherwise continuous die-cut and provide additional means (besides the peel bond to the backer ply) to retain the card portion on the form so it does not separate during processing in laser printers. The xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d structure also includes an integral card with a patterned bonding layer between the backer and the laminate to make it easier initially to peel-out or break-out the card while providing sufficient bond to retain the card during processing, especially in a laser printer.
The special series of laminates and adhesives providing peel interfaces are proprietary items available from a limited number of suppliers. These materials are typically expensive and may not have uniform peel-out characteristics from one product or batch to another, and they do not provide a practical way for the form manufacturer to control or change the peel-out characteristic, as would be desirable. Another disadvantage of the peel-out card is that it requires very precise control of the depth of the die-cut. If the die-cut is not deep enough or is not uniformly deep, the card will not peel-out properly, if at all. If the die-cut is too deep, the backer layer may be weakened so that it tears out with the card, covering the typically clear plastic laminate. In this case, any data or illustration printed on the form (which would otherwise be intended to be revealed) is obscured by torn backer material. If the die-cut is too deep, the backer may even be cut through so that the card is not retained by the backer, allowing the card to fall out of the form. Thus, expensive, high-accuracy dies are required with careful control of the height of the die edge within 0.1 mil. Also, expensive, high-accuracy die-cutting cylinders are required, with extra mass, rigidity and painstaking control of cylinder run-out. These are expensive items to manufacture and thus their use further increases the cost of manufacturing cards.
In many cases, forms with integral cards have not only the special laminate on the back surface of the business form, but also a plastic laminate adhered to the top surface. Thus, control of the precise die-cut depth becomes even more difficult in the xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d card forms. Form manufacturers need to die-cut through: a tough plastic top laminate, a relatively soft adhesive, the paper form itself, a relatively soft adhesive, another layer of tough plastic laminate, and, in some cases, a xe2x80x9cpeel interfacexe2x80x9d adhesive combination without die-cutting the backer layer, which typically is relatively thin, fragile paper. Sometimes, special, expensive die-cut edge geometries are used to alleviate the difficult task of cutting this combination of hard, tough materials and soft adhesives. These dies can cost as much as six times more than a die for typical label die-cutting. The task becomes even more difficult when forms are manufactured two-widexe2x80x94that is, in two parallel streams, requiring that the side-by-side integral cards be die-cut simultaneously, with the same die-cutting cylinder so that for each cylinder revolution, more than one card is formed. Further, dies are often mounted two, three, or four around the circumference of a die-cutting cylinder. In such a case, each die must be held to the same exacting height tolerance of 0.1 mil to provide the careful control of cutting depth to assure each card in a web of cards can be properly peeled out by the end user. In practice, obtaining a set of two or more dies with the necessary height tolerance can be very difficult. While some cards are die-cut to the proper depth, others may be cut too shallow, and others too deep, thereby reducing the quality of the end product.
Another integral card known in the prior art and sold under the trademark Dualam(trademark) and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,051 uses an even more complex and expensive laminate combination which is even more difficult to die-cut. The Dualam(trademark) card allows the end user to print directly on the exposed paper face of the form. The end user then peels out the card intermediate, having a clear laminate on the surface opposite the imaging, turns it upside down, carefully replaces it in the die-cut opening in the form, with the printed surface against a clear laminate backer which is cut by perforation to the size of the laminate combination. The user then pushes the card through the clear laminate backer via the perforations in the clear laminate backer. This yields a laser imaged card, with a plastic laminate on both surfaces with the imaging underneath one laminate. This card requires an even more expensive, precisely manufactured die and is even more difficult to die-cut than peel-out integral cards, than does the xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d card described immediately above.
The present invention applies a laminate (called the bottom laminate) to one side of a business form. A second laminate (the top laminate) may be applied to the other side of the form if a card is desired with laminate on both sides, but for simplicity only the bottom laminate is described herein. As used herein, a xe2x80x9claminatexe2x80x9d may be a single ply of material, such as polyester, or it may be comprised of more than one lamina, depending on the application. In either case, a laminate is treated herein as a single layer.
The applied bottom laminate is slightly larger on all sides than the size of the desired card. A flexible steel die (typically mounted on a rotating die cylinder) or an engraved die cylinder then cuts the business form from the other or xe2x80x9ctopxe2x80x9d side (i.e., not the side to which the bottom laminate is applied). The cutting edge of the die is formed into a perforator having very small notches (hence, the term xe2x80x9cmicroperforatorxe2x80x9d). It is the notches in the perforator which ultimately form the xe2x80x9ctiesxe2x80x9d or connections holding the integral card in the business form during subsequent processing after die-cutting, and which are severed by the user to separate the card for its intended use.
The notches in the die have a width which is preferably in the range of 0.001 inch (1 mil.) to about 0.004 inch (4 mils) but may be up to 5 mils. The depth of the notches may preferably be in a range of 1 mil to about 3 mils, and may be as great as 5 mils, but preferably the depth (or height) of the notches should not be substantially greater than the approximate height of the bottom laminate. The final nature and, dimensions of the ties depend mainly on the nature and thickness of the materials being used and the strength needed to secure the card to the form during processing.
The repeat pattern (or simply xe2x80x9crepeatxe2x80x9d) of the ties (i.e., the number of ties per inch) is not critical, and may range from thirty ties per inch to over one hundred ties per inch. The repeat pattern may vary on the same card and preferably does in that it is desirable to have the corners of a card free of ties. Separation of the card is facilitated by having one or more free corners to grasp in separating the card.
A primary advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the overall thickness of a card forming a part of a business form as compared to many prior structures. This reduced thickness leads to better performance with laser printers as compared to the thicker prior art structures. Moreover, from the standpoint of a form manufacturer, and particularly when it is desired to manufacture integral cards, the manufacturing process on conventional web finishing equipment is made easier and provides more consistent results than many prior techniques. Further, the present system provides cost advantage because it uses less costly materials and fewer materials in many cases, particularly when compared with prior xe2x80x9cpeel-outxe2x80x9d cards. It also employs dies which are less costly to make than comparable prior art dies intended for use in the production of integral cards. In addition, a form manufacturer employing the present invention has a convenient way to control the initial break-out characteristics of the integral card (i.e., by controlling the locations of the ties). The present invention also avoids the inconsistent characteristics of some former methods of separating integral cards from the rest of the business form by the end user. The end user is provided with a card which makes it easier to start the separation, as well as to complete the separation of the card. Moreover, the end product has edges which are smooth, not sharp as in some prior art structures, and appear to the touch and to the eye to be a cut edge, as distinguished from a torn perforation.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing wherein identical reference will refer to like part in the various views.